Cook Islands

Overview

Legal System: incorporating English common law, certain British and New Zealand statutes and customary laws

Protection of IP Rights in the Cook Islands

A self-governing state with free association with New Zealand, the Cook Islands do not have an independent intellectual property system of their own.

Patent Registration and Protection

Patent protection obtained in New Zealand extends to the Cook Islands.

Trade Mark Registration and Protection

There is currently no trade mark legislation enacted in the Cook Islands to be able to register trade marks in this jurisdiction. Use and public awareness of trade marks are ways in which to claim and assert trade mark rights through common law. Publication of a cautionary notice in a local newspaper and genuine use of a mark in the jurisidiction are therefore the most effective ways to protect trade mark rights in the Cook Islands.

We regularly arrange publication of our clients’ cautionary notices in the Cook Islands and are able to prepare notices for clients should they wish to assert their trade mark rights in this jurisdiction.

Spruson & Ferguson companies are members of the IPH Ltd group, an ‘ownership group’ for the purposes of the Code of Conduct for Trans-Tasman Patent and Trade Marks Attorneys 2018. For more information see ‘Ownership Group’.